Apple's rumoured large-screen iPhone, which has largely been expected to debut later this year, could see its release date pushed back to 2015, according to a report from AppleInsider.

The report cited a note to investors by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who the website described as having a "respectable track record" in future Apple product revelations. In the note, Kuo said that the rumoured 5.5-inch iPhone was seeing issues with colour unevenness, caused by the redesigned metal iPhone 6 casing. He added that the new touchscreen panel on the device was also facing issues.

These issues are also plaguing Apple's rumoured 4.7-inch iPhone 6, his note said, though he added that he still expects the 4.7-inch device to launch in autumn as has been widely speculated. Unfortunately, AppleInsider quoted him as saying that the problems would be less easy to fix with the larger screen size, and that production could have to be pushed back to 2015.

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The website also quoted Kuo as claiming that the 5.5-inch model would face issues with its new scratch-resistant sapphire front panel. He said that the panel would not easily pass the drop test in the near future, it was reported.

In terms of what we can expect from Apple's autumn announcement, then, Kuo said that he believed the vendor would unveil a 4.7-inch iPhone, and then position the current iPhone 5S and 5C as more affordable options. Indeed, he claimed that this strategy, even without a ‘phablet' option, would spur strong sales in the holiday quarter, and not affect Apple's bottom line too badly.

Last week, Kuo issued another note saying that he expected delays to the launch of Apple's rumoured iWatch, which could have to wait until December to ship, it was reported. He has also said that he expects Apple to launch a new Apple TV set-top box this year.